2023 was second warmest year on record for UK

In the UK, 2023 was tentatively identified as the second hottest year ever recorded. Specifically, Wales and Northern Ireland experienced their warmest yearly weather conditions in a sequence that began back in 1884.

Changing Climate In UK Persists

The temperatures in the UK have been changing as a result of climate change caused by humans. The way the climate is changing in the UK is similar to what is happening around the world. The year 2023 is expected to be the hottest year ever recorded on Earth. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is also at its highest in at least 2 million years. The top five warmest years in the UK have been 2022, 2023, and 2020, with all of the top ten warmest years happening after 2003.

The temperature in 2023 was recorded to be 9.97°C, which is slightly lower than the previous year's temperature of 10.03°C but higher than that of 2014, which was recorded at 9.88°C. Additionally, the Central England Temperature (CET), which has been used to monitor temperature changes since 1659, ranked 2023 as the second hottest year on record.

The graph below displays the average temperature in the United Kingdom from 1884 to the present year. It also includes an additional line that illustrates the overall pattern.

In the UK, most months in a year were warmer than usual. Specifically, June and September were notably warm in comparison. The month of June had the highest temperature record ever for the UK. Whereas, in September, the temperature reached its maximum peak at 33.5°C on 10 September. This was only the fifth time in September that the temperature had risen to that level, as seen in observation records.

The chart presented depicts the average daily temperature in the year 2023 in the United Kingdom. It uses orange color to indicate that specific dates were hotter than normal, while it uses blue to indicate those dates that were colder than normal.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, the past two years have been exceptionally warm, surpassing even their previous warmest year of 2022. 2023 has now broken the previous record for both regions.

Mike Kendon, a Met Office Senior Scientist, has stated that the evidence is clear when it comes to the climate in the UK. The long-term records show that climate change is causing an impact on the temperature, and 2023 will be marked down as another extremely hot year, ranking as the second warmest on record. If this temperature had occurred in the 20th Century, it would have been the hottest year by a long shot.

Although the weather will still fluctuate, occasionally becoming chilly and rainy, we've seen a significant increase in remarkable heat records falling throughout recent years.

We anticipate that this trend will persist as our weather undergoes further alterations in the upcoming years because of climate change caused by humans.

The year 2023 experienced a lot of heat due to remarkable heatwaves that took place in June and September. Furthermore, the temperatures for eight out of the 12 months of the year were higher than usual, supporting the overall warmth of the year.

How Climate Change Affects 2023 Temps

Attribution studies on climate examine how human activities affect a certain weather happening. These studies investigate the probability of certain temperatures happening in today's climate, which is considered natural and not influenced by human emissions, as well as in a future climate that could be heavily impacted by human-produced greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists at the Met Office conducted a quick analysis of the average temperature in the UK in 2023. Their findings reveal that if human beings weren't affecting the planet's climate, a yearly average temperature of 9.97°C would only occur once in 500 years with a mere 0.2% chance of happening each year. However, in our current climate, this average temperature is a lot more frequent, happening once every three years with a 33% chance of occurrence yearly. Unfortunately, if we continue emitting greenhouse gases at our current rate, this annual temperature could become the norm by the end of the century. Under a medium emissions scenario (SSP2-4.5), it could potentially happen around 79% of the time every year.

Dr. Andy Ciavarella, the Met Office's Climate Attribution Senior Scientist, stated that while we can see the UK's climate changing, our study on attribution compares the current climate to one that was only affected by natural factors. The results revealed that human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are the primary reason for the intensified climate changes we are seeing.

By utilizing a group of computer models known as CMIP6, we have demonstrated that the average temperature experienced in 2023 will become increasingly likely in the future. In fact, it may occur yearly by the conclusion of the century.

Rainy Season Affects Many Areas

The amount of rainfall that fell in the UK this year was 11% higher than usual. In fact, the provisional number measures 1289.8mm. Some months, such as March, July, and October, were particularly wet and contributed to the overall increase in precipitation. In fact, October tied as the sixth wettest month on record.

Throughout the year, a lot of the nation had a greater amount of rainfall than the usual, causing Northern Ireland to experience their third highest level of rain since 1836. Records show they had an estimated 1399.0mm of rain, surpassing their regular average by 21%. England was also affected, experiencing their sixth wettest year on record since 1836, with figures reaching 1045.4mm, a increase of 20% compared to the average. Certain areas in the UK had recorded over a third more rain than they typically would.

Mike Kendon added: "Even though the weather was not too extreme in the year, 2023 witnessed a lot of rainfall, and significant storms like Babet and Ciaran contributed to these statistics."

Climate predictions indicate that we are likely to experience more frequent hot and dry summers, as well as warm and wet winters. Lately, we have observed that the climate has been generally warm and wet in the autumn and beginning of the 2023/2024 winter. This year, the UK has had more rainfall than usual, with a percentage of 11% above average. As the atmosphere becomes warmer, it can hold more moisture. Consequently, we predict that our climate will become wetter. Although there is a lot of year-to-year variation in precipitation levels, we can see an apparent pattern of increased moisture in the current observations.

The amount of sunshine in the UK was mostly normal, except for Scotland which experienced its ninth sunniest year since records began in 1910.

The complete report on the condition of the climate in the UK is set to be unveiled in the latter part of 2024.

The year ended in December 2023 in a way that was very similar to how the autumn weather had been - mostly warm and wet.

The temperature in the UK during the month was 5.8°C, which is 1.6°C higher than usual, but it did not reach a record-breaking level.

Nevertheless, December proved to be one of the warmest months for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as it made it to their top 10 warmest periods. However, they fell short of setting any new records.

December had a chilly beginning which was rapidly changed by the impact of storms Elin and Fergus. Afterwards, the weather was generally mild and unpredictable. Throughout the month, there were three storms; Elin, Fergus, and Gerrit all of which caused significant weather disturbances.

The United Kingdom received rainfall that exceeded the regular amount by 48%, with a total of 188.6mm. However, it was primarily regions located in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country that caused this increase in rainfall.

A large portion of the eastern region of Scotland experienced rainfall that was more than double the average amount. This was particularly unpleasant considering the unprecedented wetness that had been recorded in October of the same area. Amongst several counties, such as Angus, Fife, Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire, December was one of the top ten wettest months in history.

The quantity of sunshine was very low in December, especially in certain regions such as Berkshire, East Sussex, and Bristol where they received less than half of their typical sunshine hours. On average, most places in the UK had only 1 hour of sunshine per day.

During December, Wales experienced its third most boring month on record since 1910, while England had its eighth most uneventful month.

In December, the United Kingdom experienced its eighth least sunny month ever registered, with only 27.9 hours of sunshine.